Women bishops and the Church of England

Wednesday, November 16, 2011
by George Conger

How knowledgeable is your audience? What can a writer assume and what must be explained. One of the arts of journalism is the ability to gauge readers’ interests and abilities — to write not too much nor too little in setting the background of a story. When I write a story for the Church of England Newspaper, the Jerusalem Post or an American newspaper, I have an idea of what needs to be said and left unsaid for that particular audience.

A wire service reporter does not have that luxury. A recent Reuters story on the controversy over women bishops in the Church of England illustrates this question. In less than 400 words Reuters had to summarize the issues and arguments and offer insights into what lies ahead. And it must do so using non-theological language that is accessible to their readers. Sometimes it works, but in the article entitled “Church regions back women bishops,” it fell short. the rest